Terzić is will not be with the team in Brazil, the assistent coaches will take over instead. He will be back for the 2nd week and so will Rašić, Malešević and Živković.He says he'd be satisfied with two wins in Brazil.

I will be interested to see if any of the OHs can put pressure on Malesevic’s position in the team as she didn’t help Seramiksan at all. I hope everyone gets some decent time on court to show what they can do.

I will be interested to see if any of the OHs can put pressure on Malesevic’s position in the team as she didn’t help Seramiksan at all. I hope everyone gets some decent time on court to show what they can do.

Her role on our NT is very specific, and necessitated by the fact we use Mihajlovic as a second Opp. That forces us to play a two-man reception system, for which she is very well suited, and plays to her strengths.

In other words, she is much more useful to us than she will ever be to any of her clubs.

Her role on our NT is very specific, and necessitated by the fact we use Mihajlovic as a second Opp. That forces us to play a two-man reception system, for which she is very well suited, and plays to her strengths.

In other words, she is much more useful to us than she will ever be to any of her clubs.

Totally agree. Malesevic is very good at receiving over a large area and I don’t think Busa or Blagojevic could do the job better than she has for the past few years. But her form in Turkey was shaky and the day may come when she has to be replaced.

She had a different role in 2015, though. Obviously, she was never the go-to offensive player but she wasn't the 2nd libero either. She was much more involved in the attack and it actually worked. And that was the time Serbia showed their best ever play, IMO - or at the very least, the most creative. Ognjenović had a lot of options on her disposal and she was using them all very well. The problem was overall inconsistency with lots of ups and downs, but I still believe it was something that could have been worked on. Instead, the following year we switched to a playing style that was more consistent but also more conservative, and it obviously brought good results, but was no longer as spectacular to watch.

I was actually watching some games from 2015...and I think it was the game against Russia and Maja set Malesevic a couple of times in the tie break during crucial points.....something that we don`t see anymore.

Another thing is....last season when she played for Osasco she had to cover for Tandara. So she was out in the same role as 2nd libero. But whenever she would get a set but get blocked or make a mistake Luizomar would replace her right away... and that was not fair...this is not only myself saying but you could read all the comments on youtube and fans saying the same thing. And lately mostly all the foreigners are not having a good season with Osasco ( Carcaces, Van Hecke, Leyva etc)...Luziomar does not know how to work with them...so playing for Osasco was a step back for her.

She had a different role in 2015, though. Obviously, she was never the go-to offensive player but she wasn't the 2nd libero either. She was much more involved in the attack and it actually worked. And that was the time Serbia showed their best ever play, IMO - or at the very least, the most creative. Ognjenović had a lot of options on her disposal and she was using them all very well. The problem was overall inconsistency with lots of ups and downs, but I still believe it was something that could have been worked on. Instead, the following year we switched to a playing style that was more consistent but also more conservative, and it obviously brought good results, but was no longer as spectacular to watch.

I agree with this too. I think WC 15 was the best I’ve ever seen Maja play, she was on fire.

At that point Terzic was still sometimes insisting on Nikolic, though who was the source of a lot of the inconsistencies IIRC and I guess by replacing her, Malesevic was expected to take on some of her offensive responsibilities.

She had a different role in 2015, though. Obviously, she was never the go-to offensive player but she wasn't the 2nd libero either. She was much more involved in the attack and it actually worked. And that was the time Serbia showed their best ever play, IMO - or at the very least, the most creative. Ognjenović had a lot of options on her disposal and she was using them all very well. The problem was overall inconsistency with lots of ups and downs, but I still believe it was something that could have been worked on. Instead, the following year we switched to a playing style that was more consistent but also more conservative, and it obviously brought good results, but was no longer as spectacular to watch.

Good analyses, Joana.

However, when we strip down to the essentials, the reason we play the way we do is because of Brankica. Her presence shapes the whole makeup of the team and the whole tactical system. She is the classic-case of double-edged blade. A player that is at the same time so potent offensively, yet so poor defensively, that we (namely, Terzic) decided that it would be an waste of resources to try to conform to the default playing style (where both OH are receiving), and try to exclude her from the defence as much as possible, both to limit errors, and to let her save her strength for offensive contribution.

In turn, this has made us as much offensively-potent as we are ever likely to be, but also something of a ticking-time bomb when it comes to defence. Basically, in every single match where we play with our first team, we hope that our attack will shred the opponent's defence BEFORE our own buckles down.

When she retires from NT (or when her offensive potential declines), we'll return to standard tactics.

Terzic does not want to use the middles not even against Bulgaria B team.... and I say Terzic because Mirkovic spent a whole season with Veljekovic and she was setting her a lot....In the finals she was even Chemik`s best score a few times. ...... Stevanovic was scoring nearly 20 points with LoBianco.... Torodova was usually Volero`s best score with Anna setting.

This game Boskovic/Mihajlovic does not work against Brazil and China....and soon enough it won`t against against anyone.

I still can`t get over the game yesterday... Taking Boskovic and Mihajlovic out was so embarrassing ... they were playing against Brazil in Brazil...this is classic and I don`t care which tournament it is... You just gotta stay and finish the game... and the fact that she played even against Germans bench...

What worries me... Mihajlovic had some games like this in Japan...where she did not start well and she just could not get it together....and it goes back to the OG final and GP semis.And 3 really bad games for Boskovic including the Turkish finals...

Games like this where they can learn... you gotta stay and fight, learn how to fight and contribute even when you are not having your best day.

In the WCH they will face Brazil in the preliminary round and could face them again in the finals...so what r they gonna do??

Just look at Zhu in the Turkish semis, where the first 3 sets were the worst she`s ever played....but she did not give up... She stayed in and ended with one of her best games ever.

Only positive thing was Milenkovic-Mirkovic-Busa.... I watched the game again and they only lost by 4 points and lost because Bjelica got blocked like 10 times.

And what`s the point to take Rasic to China???? R they gonna take her our of the game if they r down? And will Zhu even be playing?? If not....Rasic should just be resting.

What worries me... Mihajlovic had some games like this in Japan...where she did not start well and she just could not get it together

As you know, I mentioned that often during the season with JT. The Euro fake-pissed drama pout act. If you're having a bad game don't bring the rest of the team down to your level. Silly. And she's such a powerful personality ...

Having said that, I didn't think Brankica was having that bad of attitude day against Brazil. But the whole thing was weird, although I'm glad Busa came in. I like her. She's like a wholesome Midwestern American girl.

What worries me... Mihajlovic had some games like this in Japan...where she did not start well and she just could not get it together....and it goes back to the OG final and GP semis.

She's always been like that and will probably be like that until she retires. When she's off, she's off and there's very little she can do about it. That's why I don't think taking her out was that big a deal, it was obvious she wasn't going to contribute much and it could be a valuable learning experience for another player instead. In the end, that's what VLN is all about, especially in these early stages. I agree though that Bošković should have stayed on, if physically fit. It's important for her to learn how to push through those rough patches.

I guess something is wrong with Veljković, with how awful she was against Japan, and that's why Rašić is coming in to replace her.

I think you are overreacting. It was their 3rd game in 3 days. Boskovic and Mihajlovic were probably starting to fatigue. They won the first 2 games with no issues. Solid 2-1 record first week in Brazil.

I still can`t get over the game yesterday... Taking Boskovic and Mihajlovic out was so embarrassing ... they were playing against Brazil in Brazil...this is classic and I don`t care which tournament it is... You just gotta stay and finish the game... and the fact that she played even against Germans bench...

What worries me... Mihajlovic had some games like this in Japan...where she did not start well and she just could not get it together....and it goes back to the OG final and GP semis.And 3 really bad games for Boskovic including the Turkish finals...

Games like this where they can learn... you gotta stay and fight, learn how to fight and contribute even when you are not having your best day.

In the WCH they will face Brazil in the preliminary round and could face them again in the finals...so what r they gonna do??

Just look at Zhu in the Turkish semis, where the first 3 sets were the worst she`s ever played....but she did not give up... She stayed in and ended with one of her best games ever.

Only positive thing was Milenkovic-Mirkovic-Busa.... I watched the game again and they only lost by 4 points and lost because Bjelica got blocked like 10 times.

And what`s the point to take Rasic to China???? R they gonna take her our of the game if they r down? And will Zhu even be playing?? If not....Rasic should just be resting.

I still think Serbia have a good chance to be champion of WCH. They have a strong opponent Brazil in pool D after that they will may meet Germany, Japan and Netherlands. If they will beat all of their opponents they will be able to play in semifinals. Let's see. But I still think Serbia have a good chance to play in semifinals after 12 years

The fact of the matter is that they beat both Brazil and China in 2016 and also in 2017 so they have shown they can beat anyone. On one of those occasions vs Brazil they were 2-0 down and still won 18-16 in the TB, so they can fight even when it’s tough.

You do have a point Fabio, but I think Terzic has never been very interested in winning this competition. I remember in the GP finals in 2013 he started the bench players vs Brazil in a match Serbia had to win (I was pissed because I had got up early to watch every game). Again in 2015 he did all he could in a match vs Germany to make sure Serbia didn’t qualify for the finals.

You might not like the attitude, but that’s just the way it is. Of course, it’s every team trying out new players, not just Serbia.